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Last Page Update
11/05/2006 |
The banquets in the ancient Pompeii
The Roman banquet originated as both a holy and public event though Hellenistic influence turned it into a symposium, a social dinner with dishes accompanied by wine and enlivened by music and entertainments. Taste and diet were remarkably influenced by economic and social organization. Accordingly as customs became corrupted, banquets lost their original function and turned into a mere display of luxury. The evolution of the banquet follows the development of the Roman society, from austere ancestral uses to the ostentation and decay of the late Roman Empire. Diet, recipes, and the therapeutic properties or toxic effects of certain staples as well as tastes of Emperors and leaders are continuously quoted in literary works and testified to by archeological remains which, through architecture and iconography as well as furnishings and fittings, give us a clearer understanding of these aspects of life in ancient times.
Life in the Vesuvian area, stopped in AD 79 and provincial, was marked by social differences. Cicero himself when staying in his house there complained about poor standards of living in Pompeii: ("In Pompeii 1 am starving"). The contrast between lavish Roman dinners and poor provincia] dishes was indeed impressive. In Pompeii only 40% ofpoor homes was fitted with a stable fireplace compared with 66% of well-off homes and 93% of wealthy houses. "Good health to the one who will invite me,for diuner!" cries a man from Pompeii hoping in the munificence of a patrovus who would feed him and his family. An analysis of Pompeii's higher social classes helps us understand how the standard of living of the wealthy was similar to that of the wealthy inhabitants of large cities in the Roman Empire. Indeed, about a half of ancient silverware comes from cities of the Vesuvius area - including the treasure of Casa del Menandro, which consisted of 118 items and the one in Boscoreale which included 108 items - as highlighted by the 100 silver items diplayed by Trimalchio, the famous rich freedman depicted by Petronius in his Satyricon as the symbol ofRoman ostentation oflavish lwcury. The so-called Campania Felix was a favourite resort for the wealthy thanks to its climate as well as its environmental and economic conditions. It is no coincidence that Trimalchio and Lucullus, typical representatives of luxurious lifestyles, were born in this region. The atmosphere of Pompeian dinner parties is still vividly preserved in the scenes depicted in frescoes: pictures of elegant dining rooms and oeci, such as those of Casa dei Casti Amanti, reproduce objects and customs of the time, such as cushions and rugs made of precious textiles spread across couch-beds, silver vases, tables laid with flavoursome dishes and drunken guests cheered up by merry maidens and solicitous servants as was recommended by locorum proprietas described by Vitruvius. By AD 79 the austere social climate of Republican Rome with frugal dinners was abandoned by wealthier classes. Wealthy houses were enlarged to provide more space and larger entertainment rooms. The ancient custom of serving dinner in the atrium around the fireplace was replaced by the Oriental usage of consuming meals reclining on a couch. Dining rooms (tricliniai) were arranged ad hoc, with beds made in bricks or wood and bronze and enriched with silver decorations such as the ones in Casa del Menaudro. In Pompeii, thanks io the mild weather, outdoor spaces in gardens and viridaria were added to the dining rooms, in order to allow guests to consume meals in the sunshine, entertained by artificial streams of water, cascades, fountains and pools as in a pastoral Hellenistic atmosphere. Tricliniai (dining couches) were made of three horseshoe-shaped beds joined together, and set against the walls. Each bed provided space forthree people at a time who while reclined with their heads facing the table would eat and talk thus avoiding the risk of the sad dinner at home (tristi domicenio) quoted by Martial. The furniture was reduced to a minimum in these rooms: and included tables, stools, candelabra, quite often also antiques to be showed off in accordance with a widespread taste for antiquities. An example is the ephebe trapezophoros in Casa di M. Fabius Ru,fus, an eclectic work of art recalling Prassitele's style and turned into an oil lamp-holder (lychnouchos).
Following the improvement in the standards of living, activities were postponed to the evening. Yet the daylight still conditioned the work day: the need to exploit daylight for business would condition the rhythm of the day. At sunrise a quick breakfast (ientaculum) would be served, consisting in dinner leftovers. At midday a short break was devoted to prandium, a meal purchased ready-made and consumed standing up. Dinner was the main meal being consumed at 3.00 pm and would finish before nightfall or sometimes at dawn. Guests would lie on triclinia in pre-established places and, after ablutions, would be served dinner. A complet meal, ab ovo ad mala, consisted of several dishes, usually divided into three courses: the hors d'oeuvre, accompanied by mulsum, the ferculum, one or more meat or fish dishes with vegetables and then secundae mensae, sweets and fruits. After dinner (epidnis) there followed the true convivial moment, marked by the toast of the magister bibendi: high spirits and a state of drunkenness would reign. This is how the landlord of a Pompeii household (Casa del Moralista) reprimands bis servants and guests: "See thnt the slave washes the feet of our guests and covers the triclinium with linen ruys" : (to a guest) "Tear your eyes away from the wife of another man and do noi give her insinuating looks. Behave decently and avoid swearing! Do not quarrel, otherwise be off!"
Source
Soprintendenza
Archeologica di Pompei |
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